another (un)lucky seven
by flubi
Summary: oc fixes the mistakes of the past and the future Hoshiko Ootsutsuki was sent to magic ninja realm because nobody knows how to play nice and keep the peace. She makes a few friends and enemies along the way. But that hardly matters in the face of aggressive alien cousins, rogue Uchiha, dragons, and other misc. problems.
1. beginning (again)

"Hello, little soul, I am Hagoromo Ootsutsuki. Welcome to this world. I have brought you here for a very good reason." Hagoromo spoke softly to the glowing blue orb cupped in his hands. He needed to broach the topic gently, souls in this state were easily cowed and broken, and he needed a whole and stable soul to complete the task that neither the Child of Prophecy or he could accomplish. Things were changing, events that at one point had been keystones were now completely different, if things continued as they would, the world would end before the Child of Prophecy would even turn five. One of the reasons he pulled a soul from another world.

"I need your help, would you hear me out?" Hagoromo felt the soul in his hands immediately direct a wave of positive emotion. Hagoromo's lips quirked up into a half smile, he had picked a wonderful soul.

"My world is in danger and I'm helpless to stop it, and the Child of Prophecy won't be born for another fifteen years and there will still be quite some time before they can do anything about it. Between now and then will fraught with trouble and danger. You will most likely be alone for a large portion of your time there, and you will have many enemies." Hagoromo felt the soul dim slightly at his words, all he could do was send it an encouraging smile and continue on.

"But there is always a chance I could be wrong. You could find friends along the way that stick with you until the very end. I can't see the future." The soul brightened back up at that.

"It will be a dangerous task, one that would make your third life very difficult if you choose to accept my offer. Do you accept?" Hagoromo gently prodded the soul for an answer. The emotions rolling of the soul jumped from positive to negative every other second until they finally settled on one answer. The soul sent a firm wave of confirmation.

"Very well, to make sure you are not ill-suited for the task at hand, I will prevent the Reincarnation Seal from settling. Therefore you'll keep the memories of your past lives. You will need the experiences and lessons of the past to guide you. I am gifting you with my memories as well." The soul sent a wave of curiosity, but stopped at him shaking his head. That would come later.

"I offer you the option of being born the normal way or by Creation of All Things Jutsu. Meaning I will create a body for you of pure chakra, it will have... unusual capabilities." Once again the soul in his cupped hands deliberated over their options. The soul sent a thought to him this time.

 _"I would like very much to not have to repeat childhood for the third time when I do not need to. The second option please, and female if you would be so kind."_

Hagoromo gently moved the soul to where the stomach of the body would be, he slowly started to assemble and conduct both his Yin and Yang chakra to form a malleable body for the soul. The body would be able to be manipulated by the soul, but he gave it his clan's traits as a base for now. White hair, average height, pale skin, two short horns on the hairline, a little less than the sum of his own chakra to form large reserves (larger than of his tailed children's, it's not like his reserves would do him any good, so why not pass it down to the next generation), and he left the eyes alone, letting his own genetics decide who's the soul would inherit. He finished, he stepped back to let the soul's form settle on its own. As soon as the soul's form settled he noticed that something wasn't quite right with her eyes.

"Why can't I see?" The soul trembled, worry and fear obvious, her form unsteady as she tried to reach out and touch something. Hagoromo took a second, closer look and realized that something must've gone wrong and now the soul was blind. He moved closer and grabbed onto her forearms to steady them. The soul's gasp cut off any response he had. The soul's already cloudy blue eyes glowed and became even bluer and more unfocused. Hagoromo watched in mute horror as her body was wracked with sobs and minute flinches to invisible touches. He let the soul ride it out, more concerned for what could go wrong if he stopped it. Eventually the soul's sobs stopped and she stilled, leaning against him for support.

"Hey, Hagoromo-san? Can I call you Tou-san?" Hagoromo hesitated then nodded, knowing that the soul felt the motion. He knew they needed the support (The soul was still in that oh so very fragile state, and would take more time to crawl out of it. Similar to a butterfly leaving the cocoon for the first time.), and this was one of the numerous ways he could help.

"What was that little soul?" He could not help his curiosity, but he knew if they could not handle it, they would just not answer. The soul stiffened by relaxed when he began to run his hand through her hair.

"...I don't know, but I saw... I saw the ten-tails, death, a wonderful, bright boy, and war, Tou-san. Worse than the other wars in my past lives. I'm… I'm happy you brought me here to prevent that. No one deserves that. No one," Hagoromo pulled away from the soul and collected both water and earth chakra together to form a malleable wooden staff that would only bend to the little soul's will. He grabbed both of her hands and brought them to the staff. She clutched the staff close, waiting for his explanation.

"We don't have much time now, here. This is a malleable staff that will always and only bend to your will. You can will it into any form as long as you allow your chakra to flow through it. Allow it to guide and protect you. You may not be ready to face the entirety of the world just yet, but I trust in your ability to adapt and become stronger little soul." Rather than just smiling at the soul, that was now his child, he sent out a wave of positive intent.

"As your staff will guide you, you will be the guiding star to those who are lost. Your name for this life is Hoshiko Ootsutsuki. In my memories, you will find a method of sight. Turn around now, so I can place the seal that will contain my memories and a special storage seal." Hoshiko did as he said. She felt him place one of his hands between her shoulder blades, and one on her lower back. A feeling of growing heat began where his hands were placed. The awareness that he was placing seals on her did not prepare her for the pain of them being burned into her skin.

"Sorry for not warning you of the pain, Hoshiko. The seal between your shoulder blades is a memory containment seal, it prevents other from looking into your mind, and can also store memories that you want to seal away. It is also a method of communication, between me, you, and my other children. The seal on your lower back is a special storage seal. It has multiple capabilities; it is infinite, able to seal any number of items no matter their size, it also has the capability to seal live humans into it, but I don't suggest leaving them in there for more than thirty days. You may lose your staff on the trip down, so temporarily, I will seal it in the lower seal." Hoshiko didn't know what to say to that, so she just nodded. Hagoromo continued on regardless.

"To start off your new life, I will activate my memories in you. You will also need to start somewhere, and to do that you will need some of the local currency. Here's a hundred thousand ryo, spend it wisely. Stay safe, little one." After he sealed the ryo in her second seal, Hagoromo poked Hoshiko on the forehead harshly and watched as she fell from this plane of existence to the next.

He could only hope that he made the right choice by sending her down to fix other's mistakes.

* * *

The first thing Hoshiko did once she woke up in the elemental nations was try to figure out where the hell she was. She wanted to review her Tou-san's memories and see for herself where she might be (and figure out the method of sight her Tou-san mentioned). But doing it out in the open (was she even out in the open?) in an unknown world might very well get her killed. Hoshiko unsteadily put her legs under her and tried to stand. Key word: tried. She could only guess that it was because this was a new body, unused to rapid movement.

"Where am I...?" Hoshiko crouched instead of standing up and let her hands drift over the ground lazily. Wherever she was had a lot of mud and water. She cupped some of it and lifted it from the ground. Slowly she opened her hand and let the mud pour out. She stiffened when a cold, metal object pressed against her neck.

"Who are you? How did you get here?" Spoke a voice that could only belong to a man in his thirties. Hoshiko reflected on the answers she could give, and decided the barest truth would be best. "I-I'm Hoshiko Ootsutsuki, and I-I don't know how I got here..." Hoshiko stuttered out. Can you really blame her? She gets her first taste of this new world and it's with a knife to her neck. The knife shifted closer. Futilely, she shifted her eyes around in hopes of seeing something. She could hear the chatter of people in the background but didn't pay it any mind, that wasn't the important part here. It was the knife on her neck.

"Hoshiko Ootsutsuki, how did you find me? Who sent you? What is your intent?" The person asked again. Hoshiko took a deep breath to settle her nerves and answered. "Who are you? Why would someone send people after you?" Hoshiko hoped her questions instead of answers wouldn't get her killed. The knife pulled away from her neck, but she didn't bother moving, even if the man did move away. She knew he was probably still poised to stab her if she made any wrong move. The man sighed and shifted around behind her.

"Come here, little girl." The man ordered from behind her. She placed her hands on the ground and slowly rotated in her crouched position, not wanting to fall over. It must've looked funny if the giggles from behind the man have anything to say about it. Once she rotated to where she last remembered the man being, she decided to fork over her dignity, and crawl, rather than trip over a tree branch and kill herself trying to walk. "Is there something wrong, little girl?" The man sounded curious, if not a bit concerned (she doubted it though). Hoshiko adjusted her path to better reach the man and stopped. "I-I think I might be blind." Hoshiko looked at where she estimated the man's face to be. She didn't bother trying to look around this time. Her being blind was almost a certainty at this point. She couldn't wait to review Tou-san's memories.

"Blind? That would explain a lot." The man approached and gripped Hoshiko's forearms, lifting her up and guiding her to where he wanted to bring her. Well, that was what he intended. The world faded around Hoshiko until all she could see was scenes, events, people.

 _"Hah... What a cute... little child... Please... take care of... my son... His name... is J-Jiraiya..." An exhausted woman barely got out before she died, with a tiny little baby in her arms._

 _"Jiraiya-kun. You shouldn't throw food at other people, just because you didn't get what you wanted." A man scolded a little boy covered in food._

 _"That was pathetic Jiraiya-kun. I know you can do better than that." A blurry figure harshly scolded._

 _"Jiraiya! How dare you!" An angry blonde swiftly approached a boy and mercilessly punched him over and over again._

 _"Sensei! Sensei! I made a Jutsu!" The boy exuberantly yelled, and bounced over to a man, then disappeared._

 _"A talking toad!" Jiraiya pointed at a large toad, the toad gave him a deadpan stare._

 _"Ah. A human child." The toad stated in return._

 _A white haired teenager grimly fought a strangely dressed woman on the side of a dirt road._

 _"Lighten up, Orochimaru!" A man with spiky white hair forcefully pats the back of a man with long black hair and pale, snake-like features._

 _"Hmph. We are in the middle of a war Jiraiya, you need to tone it down." Orochimaru firmly states and walks away._

 _"Sensei, I would like to take on a team of genin. I think it is about time that I do so." Jiraiya comfortably states from where he sits across from an aged man._

 _"Yes, I think so too, Jiraiya-kun." The old man stamps a paper and puffs his pipe._

 _"My name is Minato Namikaze, and I want to become the next Hokage!" A small blonde states with a determined tone. Jiraiya's only response is to give him a speculative look, and nod._

 _"I think I found the Child of Prophecy, Sensei. Minato Namikaze." Jiraiya passively flicks a stray piece of lint towards an old man._

 _Jiraiya in a green frog suit pointed at three red boards while three children observed._

 _A little girl with long, straight white hair, horns, and blue eyes concentrated on a leaf. Jiraiya was doubled over laughing in the corner._

 _" Orochimaru! Why are you leaving the village? Please come back!" Jiraiya futilely chases after the man with snake-like features._

 _"Was -hic- it my fault... Tsunade-chan -hic-... that hef lef..." Jiraiya sadly asks the blonde drinking by the bottle. He picked up a drink and took a gulp instead of waiting for an answer._

 _"Hello~ pretty lady! This'll be perfect for my research!" Jiraiya hurriedly wrote something down while peering through a gap in the fence surrounding a bathhouse._

 _"Tsunade, will you keep an eye out for a group called Akatsuki? They may cause some problems." The blonde gave Jiraiya a searching look, nodded, and walked away._

 _"Oh~ Please teach me mister~!" A naked, busty blonde wrapped her arms around Jiraiya's neck from behind. Jiraiya's nose dripped with blood._

 _"Bwahahaha! Y-your face!" Jiraiya boisterously laughed at a funny-faced blond. The blonde's face only got worse._

 _Jiraiya with poles in his back etched something onto a toad's back and when the people with orange hair closed in, the toad disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Jiraiya smiled as he drifted to the depths of the sea._

"Jiraiya-san. Watch out for the untrustworthy ally... Be wary of the long-forgotten enemy... The Child of Prophecy is not who you think... And good luck with your books." Hoshiko blinked and shook her head. The grip on her arms was tense, just waiting for a wrong move on her part.

"...Do you normally do that?" Jiraiya asked, dumbfounded and wary of the unknown right in front of him. The unknown that seemingly just gave him a prophecy. The second time in his life that he'd received one.

"Do what?" Hoshiko tilted her head, unsure of what he meant.

"Eyes glow pure blue and give what seems to be prophecies and or warnings. All while shaking uncontrollably." Jiraiya observed Hoshiko's reaction. Which was even more confusion. That didn't make sense. Prophets were supposed to be aware of their abilities, or well defended if they were suspected to have the ability. She was/had neither.

"I don't know about any of that. I think I saw your life, from beginning to end." Hoshiko frowned. Maybe this was normal here. But based on his reaction, maybe not.

"...What." Jiraiya didn't know what to do with this little girl. She spouted nonsense but didn't seem to be lying.

"...Why did I see that fate when I touched Tou-san? But when I touched you, I see your life? Hold on... take your hands off me, and then grab my forearms again. I want to test something." Hoshiko ordered Jiraiya. Maybe the intent was the cause. When she touched Tou-san, she wanted to know what she would be facing and why she couldn't see. But when she touched Jiraiya, all she felt was confusion, and the need to know who this man was. This time she would focus on who he will be.

"Why should I, little girl?" Jiraiya cautiously asked after releasing his grip on her. No matter how harmless she looked, she could secretly be an enemy ninja in disguise and wanted him to lower his guard. No matter how strong he is, its best to be cautious.

"When I touched Tou-san, I saw a theoretical end to the world. When I touched you, I saw bits and pieces of what I can only assume to be your life. I think the difference is the intent. With Tou-san, I wanted to know why he was sending me to save the world. But with you, I wanted to know who you are." Hoshiko grabbed her chin and frowned in concentration.

"Why would your Tou-san send you, a little girl! To save the world! Just who is your Tou-san, to put all his trust in a child!" Jiraiya could barely control his tone. If the world was in danger, you would send your most capable, not a little girl!

"Watch your tongue Jiraiya-san. I may physically be a little girl, but I understand the gravity of the situation, and what this implies for me. Tou-san specifically pulled my soul out of all the others, gave me his DNA, all his memories, and his skills. With the specified purpose of making sure the Child of Prophecy reaches eighteen." Anger blinded Hoshiko momentarily. She gasped then covered her mouth. She said too much. Revealed too much. Jiraiya was going to take her in and experiment on her until he figured out what made her tick. What allowed her to see glimpses of the future. She would run if she could, but her lack of sight forced her to wait for him to make the first move. She could defend herself then.

Jiraiya forced a calm upon himself and leaned back to stare at the little girl coolly, then relaxed.

"I'd rather you be trained if you're going to try to save the world. No point in dying halfway through your goal. Become my student."


	2. new souls

**um, warning for hoshiko freaking out and being unsure who/where she is. introductions happen.**

* * *

"I'd rather you be trained if you're going to try save the world. No point in dying halfway through your goal. Become my student."

Hoshiko didn't really believe her ears. Someone that actually believed her, and was willing to help her along to her goal? What's the catch. Everyone has motives, some innocent, others... not so much.

"Why?" Hoshiko asked the simpler (politer) version of the question.

"Why not? If what you said is true, then you should know my motivations, what kind of person I am, and that I do care for this world and it's future." Jiraiya was right. She did know all of that, but she could really only interpret. And interpretations could be wrong.

She's decided to give him the benefit of the doubt for now, until he did something to force her to reevaluate her opinion of him. After all, that's what life was about. Learning and reevaluating.

"Okay... Jiraiya-sensei..." Jiraiya seemed to... brighten up with her response.

"Jiraiya-sensei, introduce us!" A voice, one she immediately tacked as the giggler, shouted fearlessly. Most likely trusting Jiraiya enough to be loose in her presence.

"The one with the annoying voice is Yahiko-kun," Yahiko protested, but Jiraiya bulldozed through, "Konan-chan say hello," a feminine voice did so, "and last but not least is Nagato-kun. He doesn't talk much to strangers." Jiraiya whispered the last bit to her conspiratorially, Nagato made a sound of protest, but stopped short. She looked in his direction and noticed something. She gasped and made to move closer, but stopped when it moved away.

"I... I recognize those eyes. May I have a closer look?" Hoshiko breathed out and listened for a response.

"Y-you recognize them?" Nagato. Scenes flooded into her mind when she connected who's eyes they belonged to.

"You have the Rinnegan, but you won't always have them. Protect them with your life. Please..." Her warnings would never truly be understood until the day it became relevant. But it would ease her consciousness to at least know she warned them.

Until she passed out. Then she didn't care. Couldn't.

* * *

 _"What is this?"_

 _"A being created to bring peace."_

 _"What?"_

 _"Why would you do that!"_

 _"Do you remember what happened when you had kids? Made us? This can only end in disaster."_

 _"Settle down children. I brought her here to settle matters that no one else could."_

 _That sounds like Tou-san. What's he doing?_

 _"What kind of matters?"_

 _"The fate of the world."_

 _"Why would you give that job to some measly... human!"_

 _"She's... well versed in situations like this if her past lives are anything to go by. And I'm quite sure she's more that human, just like me."_

 _Her?_

 _"Past lives? More than human? Just what did you bring into this world?"_

 _"Worry not about her past, focus on her future. She will need some guidance from you, all of you."_

* * *

"Hey, guys! I think she's waking up!" An unfamiliar voice broke through the silence.

"Yahiko! Don't shout." Who is that? Yahiko? She didn't know a Yahiko.

Where were they?

Wakefulness came suddenly to her, and without warning. Listening to the conversation, she realized there were people he didn't recognize. That instantly set her on guard.

"¡¿Quiénes son ustedes?! Where are my friends! What did les hiciste?!" He scrambled away. They were too close. He noticed that the distance that was traveled, didn't match her body size. He should be going twice the distance!

"W-what...? What did you do to me! My... mi cuerpo!" She lifted her hands, and then slowly moved them to his face. This was all so wrong! He wasn't delicate! She... she didn't have horns... Was this their plan? Displace her and mess with his mind?

"Hoshiko, calm, you're in a safe place. Do you remember Jiraiya?" He... she did. The man's life flooded through her head and she clutched her head as the past few hours came back to her all at once.

"...Lo siento...Sorry. My past lives weren't the safest..." She pulled her hands from her head, and gently rested them on the floor. Someone shuffled around on a... concrete floor, their steps barely muffled. Probably wearing socks or something soft on their feet. Understandable. It was chilly here.

"Past lives?" Konan asked. She seemed to be in front of her, just a few feet back, based on her voice. Huh, her voice was cute. Aww.

"My soul was pulled from the loop of reincarnation, so I remember both of my past lives. Souls are only blocked from their past lives memories when they're living. I was dead, and pulled out of the process halfway through. Completely detached from my old body, but not in my new one. You've probably gone through it a few times too." Hoshiko ran her hands through her hair but hair hit her horns. She played with the hair around them, unused to her new... features. Konan and the others shifted around.

"W-what were your past lives?" Nagato was curious enough to mildly get over his reticence. She giggled.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. But in my first life I was a traveler. I traveled to so many places, ones you could only dream of. My second life... well I guess you could say I was a soldier, fighting a corrupt ruler, we won. Pretty evil dude." Hoshiko nodded sagely to herself. She heard the giggles that erupted from the others and smiled gently. Kids were great.

"Would you help us, if what you've said it true? We're gonna fight an evil man! He's got Ame in a choke hold, and is blocking us off from the rest of the world. He's dragged us into a war we don't want to fight!" Yahiko spoke up desperately. Hoshiko's eyes widened, but she nodded.

"Thank you." Konan and Yahiko said at the same time. Jiraiya hummed, grabbing all of their attention at once.

"Now that that's over with, Hoshiko, do you know what chakra is?" Jiraiya asked in such a serious way that Hoshiko sat up and listened.

"Tou-san mentioned it a few times, but I'm not sure. Doesn't it have to do with the life force of a person. Why?" Hoshiko knew better than to ask, 'Isn't that some made up concept?'. Because she has horns, Tou-san burned something called seals into her back, and she was tasked with saving the world again. Was chakra really such a far fetched concept?

"Close. Chakra is a mixture of physical, and spiritual energies. You can mold it to do all sorts of things, like walking on water, completely erasing your presence, forms of nature-"

"Forms of nature? Like water, wind, and ice?" Hoshiko interrupted excitedly. If she was right... then she at least knew how to do something in this new life.

"Yes, but ice is a form of kekkei gen-" Jiraiya was cut off by the sight of Hoshiko, a (not so) little girl who knew nothing about this world, cupping ice and water in her hands.

"How..." Jiraiya and Konan asked in unison. Hoshiko stopped her mental happy dance, and looked up from her cupped hands.

"I've always had an affinity for water and wind... and my past life only allowed me to exercise that affinity. Ice was my domain, while my friends had theirs; nature, lava, wind, earth, and others." Hoshiko kept one hand cupped but lifted the other and swirled the other above the cupped hand. The ice slowly shifted into a figure holding a staff, seemingly fighting off an invisible enemy.

"It was one of the things we had to learn to survive. Control of ourselves and our bodies was key." Hoshiko set the ice figure on the floor and manipulated it through the room with her limited knowledge. They all watched the figure dance around her.

Jiraiya didn't know what to think of this girl. He wasn't quite sold on the idea that she may be older than she looks, but what else could account for her old eyes? Despite him taking her as a student, he didn't know if he could trust her, but something in him told her she would need his guidance. Something that greatly confused him, regardless, he was trained to rely on his instincts. Even if he trusted his instincts, she brought so many questions to mind.

Who was her Tou-san? What was so bad that required someone to be sent to fix the future? Who were the Ootsutsuki? Was she truly able to see the future? Why was a civilian able to call upon and manipulate her chakra so easily? Why did she look so... different?

"Jiraiya-sensei! Konan-chan made me flower out of paper! Its so intricate, and detailed!" Jiraiya snapped out of his thoughts and focused on the earnestly smiling Hoshiko right in front of him, holding one of Konan's origami pieces. He ruffled her hair gently, and watched Hoshiko delicately hold onto the origami flower and maneuvered back to where she last sat. The questions could wait until later, when Hoshiko would be more comfortable answering questions.

"Hmmm, now that I think about it, we didn't do proper introductions. Yahiko go first!" Jiraiya boisterously shouted, interrupting the conversation between Konan and Yahiko. Yahiko squawked when Jiraiya roughly slapped his back.

"... stupid Pervy-sensei. I'm Yahiko, I like salty foods, my friends, and Ame! I dislike people who look down on Ame! My hobbies are fishing and building up Akatsuki. My dream is to become the ruler of the world so there won't be anymore wars." Yahiko finished with a determined huff. A rustle of fabric where Konan was, gave Hoshiko a guess of who was going to go next.

"I'm Konan. I like flame-broiled fish, my friends, and the color blue. I don't particularly dislike anything. Flower pressing, and origami are my hobbies. And I guess my dream is to fulfill Yahiko's." Konan's voice wavered when she said Yahiko's name... Could it be? Hoshiko smiled slyly, and decided to wait for more information before she acted.

"My... name is Nagato Uzumaki. I care for my friends, and I like grilled fish and stew, practicing my ninjutsu, and rain. I really don't like killing... Protecting Yahiko, and Konan is my dream."

"Just call me Hoshiko or Hoshi! My favorite food is garlic knots, I like cute girls, and the sea! I guess I dislike... jerky prodigies! Yeah. My goal in life is to become a teacher or have a big family." Hoshiko nodded to herself with a goofy smile, while the others just stared at her in confusion.

"Cute girls...? But you're blind Hoshiko-san..." Hoshiko 'stared' at Nagato for a solid minute then started tearing up. That soon turned into sobbing. Jiraiya could relate. Konan's face flickered between disbelief and concern. Nagato froze up. Yahiko clenched his fist and let a few tears slip for his fallen brethren.

"Nooooooooo... death is... better than living... this cursed existence..." Hoshiko curled up into a ball and became unresponsive.

* * *

Later Nagato found Hoshiko outside on the porch, staring at the stars. He took a moment to take in the starlight on her alien features.

"Nagato-kun... what would you do to achieve peace?" Nagato startled at the question. Hoshiko didn't turn her gaze from the stars.

"I-I don't know Hoshiko-san..." Nagato mumbled quietly. Hoshiko then thought to herself, 'Then I guess I'll have to be your limiter.' Hoshiko patted the spot besides her and waited.

"Can I ask a favor Nagato-kun?" Hoshiko finally asked when he sat down besides her.

"Sure, Hoshiko-san..." Nagato nodded before he remembered that she couldn't see him. Hoshiko smiled at him

"Can you describe the stars to me? I bet they're beautiful. Especially at this time of night." Nagato nodded hesitantly once again, and went on to describe the stars until they both fell asleep leaning against each other.

* * *

 **I didn't mean to make the end so shippy, but oh well. I'm still trying to decide on the pairing, and if there is one, it probably won't happen until she's like twenty in this world.**

 **srry abt the shortness, plz tell me if there's any mistakes, I would be so happy!**

 **slipped in some hints abt her past life!**

 **translations:**  
 **¡¿Quiénes son ustedes?! - Who are you people?!**

 **les hiciste! - do to them!**

 **mi cuerpo - my body!**

 **Lo siento - I'm sorry**


	3. seals

hoshiko gets nekked

* * *

Hoshiko woke the next morning to Jiraiya prodding at her and Nagato. They had fallen back and curled up together with their backs to each other.

"Get up you two, time to eat." Hoshiko slowly sat up and waited for Nagato to get up first. She was mindful to watch out for the sliding door she heard Jiraiya shove open. Hoshiko held her arms out, wanting to catch the doorframe.

"Hoshi, what are you doing?" Yahiko called out, drawing everyone else's attention to her. Hoshiko felt her face heat up with embarrassment. A loud thud drew everyone's attention away from her.

"Yahiko, she's blind, remember?" Konan said in a scalding tone. Hoshiko's hand lightly tapped the doorframe and she grabbed onto it with both hands.

"Ah! Forgive me Hoshi! I'm sorry if I insulted you in any way!" Yahiko shouted with the accompanying sound of fabric rustling. Hoshiko smiled lightly, and waved her hand. The other still held onto the doorframe.

"It's not really a problem, but could you guide me to the table? I'm having trouble finding it." Hoshiko giggled at her stupid joke, not bothered that nobody else laughed with her. She heard Yahiko (probably?) get up and walk towards her. Yahiko grabbed her hand and slowly walked her over to the table. He gently grabbed her shoulders, waited a second for a protest then gently pressed down on her shoulders to tell her to sit down. She obliged and made a happy sound when her knees met a pillow.

"Thank you Yahiko-kun, I probably would've knocked over the table without your help." Hoshiko smiled in Yahiko's general direction, Yahiko shuffled back to where he sat previously and muttered a 'you're welcome'. Hoshiko guessed where the others may be seated and looked in that direction.

"Now that everyone is seated at the table, let's discuss what we'll be doing today, how to help Hoshiko get around without her sight, and the fact that I will have to leave in one year." Jiraiya (he was to the right of her?) adopted a serious tone, and shushed the younger three when they began to protest. Konan and Nagato shut up but Yahiko continued to whine.

"But Jiraiya-sensei! If you're leaving in a year, how will you train Hoshi?! What about us? You haven't even taught us that much ninjutsu!" Yahiko slammed his hands onto the table and probably glared at Jiraiya. Hoshiko put her hands on table, both to stabilize herself and to make sure that no one would flip the table. Jiraiya sighed, drawing their attention from Yahiko.

"I will train Hoshiko to the best of my abilities, but there is still a war going on, and if I don't return to the public eye, some will get suspicious. Either thinking that I am a traitor, or worse, will want to find out the reason for my absence," Jiraiya's clothes shifted, and something wooden broke. A liquid sloshed around, a ceramic tink, and then a clack sounded in front of her. Hoshiko reached out carefully and found a bowl between her hands.

"I will be upping your training, preparing you three for my eventual absence. What I am not able to teach Hoshiko, I expect you three to help her with," Hoshiko felt a bit annoyed at being talked over, but ultimately decided to ignore her annoyance, "Hoshiko, breakfast is a simple ramen. Do you know how to use chopsticks?"

Hoshiko nodded and curled her hand around the warm bowl a bit tighter. Jiraiya muttered a quiet 'good' and gently pried open her right hand to set the chopsticks on her palm. She moved them into the proper position, but made no more to eat.

"Let's eat," They all said their thanks and dug in, most of their thoughts focused on what would happen next. Leaving a tense silence. Hoshiko carefully stuck her chopsticks in, waiting for some resistance to close them. She slowly brought them to her face and began to eat. Once she stopped finding noodles, she drank the broth and set the bowl down. Hoshiko was pleased to find the the salty broth delicious.

Hoshiko rolled one of the sticks between her thumb and index finger, contemplating what to do next. She was still hungry, but would she ask for help, or try to serve herself on her own. The choice was taken from her when her bowl was slowly lifted from her left hand.

"More, Hoshiko?" Jiraiya asked, and she nodded. Hoshiko ate a few more bowls of ramen while thinking about her situation.

Why did she pass out yesterday? What was that strange dream? Why did she have horns? Method of sight? Despite what she said to Jiraiya yesterday, she had no clue where to start. She didn't have any information, no resources, and she was blind. Though she was frustrated at being treated like a kid (counting all of her lives, she was still older than Jiraiya, dammit), she had to admit it was useful for invoking sympathy, and compassion.

There was also the fact that she knew things that she didn't know previously, like how she immediately knew what chakra was once he began explaining. Or the fact that she understands the language they're speaking (it's similar to Japanese but not at the same time), especially considering the fact that she didn't speak a lick of Japanese before being sent to this world.

Overall, she was confused.

"Jiraiya-sensei, what's a seal?" Hoshiko asked quietly, remembering the two on her back. Jiraiya choked on the noodles he was guzzling down. Hoshiko patted him on the back and looked at him expectantly.

"Where did this come from?" Jiraiya sounded confused and curious at her question. Hoshiko heard three other bowls be set down.

"I remembered that Tou-san placed some seals, and said some vague things about them, then sent me here. One was a storage for memories, and the other for objects. I think he mentioned something about being able to put a human in there." All while Hoshiko spoke, the others looked at each other in confusion, and awe. Jiraiya choked again when she mentioned the human part.

"Wha-What?! Let me see these seals!" Jiraiya demanded. Hoshiko paused.

"What am I wearing Jiraiya-sensei?" Hoshiko hoped is was something simple, otherwise this would be a challenge and half to not flash someone. Not that she really cared if anybody saw her bits, its was the principle of the thing. (The fact that there were kids here was a contributing factor.)

"A white kimono with a mon on it?" Hoshiko glanced in the direction of the kids then back at Jiraiya. Hoshiko considered her options, and decided on the easiest course of action.

"You three should leave. I'm not sure what my body's age is, but I trust you can be mature about it Jiraiya-sensei?" Hoshiko stated sternly and turned back to the younger three, not hearing any movement. Jiraiya sputtered.

"Jiraiya-sensei, the two seals are on my back, one between my shoulder blades and the other on my lower back. I don't have a change of clothes, and I trust that you can be professional." Jiraiya stopped and considered her words. She wasn't wrong. Hoshiko looked to physically be fifteen years old. Developed to have concerns about his maturity, especially if she had seen his life. He mentally cringed at the impression that Hoshiko must have of him.

"Alright you three, skedaddle and go practice your non-lethal ninjutsu," Jiraiya shooed the three away, all in various states of flustered, "Do you need help getting your kimono off, Hoshiko?"

Hoshiko nodded and let him direct her through the motions with her back turned to him. Jiraiya tried to not look when possible, trying to preserve some semblance of privacy for Hoshiko. Once Hoshiko had opened her kimono enough to rest low on her hips, he'd told her lay on her stomach.

Jiraiya finally allowed himself to look at Hoshiko and was surprised to see that he could barely identify the seals on her back. Parts of the seals were unintelligible to him but he had a base enough grasp on the their purpose. The only concrete information he had was that they were stable. Deciding that the memory seal shouldn't be touched by him, he asked Hoshiko if he could try something.

"Hoshiko, can I try to seal something in the storage seal?" Jiraiya asked. She gave confirmation in the form of a head nod. He scanned the room for an object to seal. His eyes landed on an unused pair of chopsticks and shrugged. At least they were unused.

Jiraiya grabbed the chopsticks and barely touched them to the seal with chakra at his finger tips when something within the seal lashed out at him. He jerked his hand back and stared warily at the seal. He knew that some seals were keyed to chakra but this was new. Most seals keyed to chakra just didn't activate. The few seal masters that still lived couldn't find a safe way to include a violent defense mechanism. It either destabilized the seal (therefore exploding), or just didn't work.

"Hoshiko, do you knew how to bring a small amount of chakra to your hand?" Hoshiko nodded, Jiraiya pressed the chopsticks into her hand and moved it towards the seal, "please coat your hand in a light layer of chakra and press this pair of chopsticks onto your lower back. That's it." Jiraiya watched with a critical eye as the chopsticks touched her seal, they were gone.

Jiraiya momentarily considered asking Konan to come back in and test the seal, but vetoed that idea when he considered what consequences for an unknown touching the seal a second time. The initial shock was telling. There were most likely security measures built in, He would not allow Konan to find out what they were.

"Now touch your hand to seal and think about bringing the chopsticks out of the seal." Hoshiko did as he said and took the chopsticks from her. The chopsticks hadn't changed in any shape, form, or chakra make up. Jiraiya sat back and crossed his arms in consideration.

"Hoshiko, do you have anything else in your storage seal?" Jiraiya asked. Hoshiko, must've figured out that he was done examining the seals, sat up and held an arm over her breasts. Jiraiya firmly kept his eyes on his student's face. He may be a perv but he had rules, one of them was to never intentionally look at minor's body. Everyone else was fair game though.

"Yes, Tou-san sealed my staff, and a hundred thousand ryō for emergencies." Hoshiko made no move pull up her kimono yet, knowing he would probably ask her to withdraw/add something.

"Please remove the staff, I will train you to use it. Leave the ryō in the seal for later." Hoshiko unsealed the staff and pulled her kimono up the rest of the way. Just in time for Yahiko to bust in.

"Jiraiya-sensei! I perfected Water Clone!"

* * *

plz comment criticism i couldn't get in contact w/ my usual beta, and it's been too long since i last updated for me to hold out any longer.


	4. inquires

"Feel the bō staff. Get a feel for how long it is. Once you have done that, grasp a third of the way down the staff with your right hand. Palm facing up," Jiraiya stood a ways away, watching Hoshiko fumble around with the staff in her hands. Teaching Hoshiko would be hard, not impossible, but especially for someone who quite obviously was not a sensor.

Hoshiko told him she usually was a long range fighter, but it wouldn't do to only be good in one area. So he decided to teacher how to use the staff she was given. It was the perfect weapon for her in her current state.

Short range, not too heavy, can serve as both a weapon and a walking stick. It would also double as a cover. Make her seem weak to an enemy (internally Jiraiya made a note to himself, teach Hoshiko how to disguise herself properly), like she was an invalid.

The philosophy to not underestimate your opponent was taught to all, but surprisingly few ninjas actually followed it. Many liked to show off, giving away all of their moves and intentions in one fell swoop.

"Good. Now, lower it so it's horizontal to your body, with your right fist just above the bottom of your ribs. Once you've done that, you can mess around, and get used to the weight of the staff." Jiraiya would make her the best she could be.

* * *

Hoshiko tried to avoid the fist rushing at her face and barely got away. It scraped across her face. She fell to her knees and scrambled away from Nagato's fist. She occasionally skittered to the left or right when she heard Nagato's splashing footsteps get particularly close.

Hoshiko bolted up and tried to kick Nagato when she got far enough away from him. Her leg was caught in his palm and pushed forward. Caught off balance she fell back onto the ground.

The twelve second scramble on the ground resulted in Hoshiko pinned face down, muddy and agitated. Nagato panted lightly above her, not easing up a bit.

"Nagato: fourteen, Hoshiko: zero! C'mon Hoshi, I thought you said you could fight!" Yahiko whined a few feet away while Nagato eased off of her back. Hoshiko tilted her head slightly and glared at where she presumed Yahiko to be, and then pouted.

"...I'm better against people when I have a weapon..." Hoshiko muttered into the mud that seemed to coat everything. The only thing untouched by the mud was the inside of (most) buildings. Even the people had mud on them somewhere. She sighed into the mud.

"That can be arranged." Konan spoke up from the sidelines, "here's your bō, Hoshiko-san." Hoshiko heard the displacement of air, but did nothing to stop it from hitting her, accepting that it would be better to let it hit her and be embarrassed, than get embarrassed by failing to catch it. Better to be considered lazy over incompetent. The dull thunk of it hitting her back (and Yahiko's snickers) made her face flare up in embarrassment again.

Hoshiko groped for the bō and rolled over to push herself up.

"I'm here, Hoshiko-san." Hoshiko shifted in Nagato's direction, and raised her bō.

"Three, two, one... Start!" Yahiko called out the they both rushed at each other.

Hoshiko lost, horribly, but she did give Nagato some bruises before she lost, again.

* * *

"Hey, Konan-chan, can I touch your face?" Hoshiko bit her lip and asked hesitantly. She leaned further into the fingers carding through her hair.

"Why?" Konan stared at Hoshiko in curiosity, only pausing momentarily.

"You know how I can't see? The visions of you weren't very clear... and..." Hoshiko mumbles something really lowly to where Konan couldn't hear her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear that. Could you repeat that?" Konan asked not unkindly. Gently she started to braid a crown and pulled Hoshiko's hair into a high ponytail.

"You just... you just had a real cute face, and I wanted see, um feel? Never mind..." Hoshiko blushed and pulled away from Konan's fingers. She stopped when Konan gently tugged her hair.

"You can touch my face, Hoshiko-san. Just be gentle." Konan lightly grabbed Hoshiko's shoulders and turned her to face her. Konan took hold of Hoshiko's hands and slowly brought Hoshiko's hands up to her face.

Konan watched Hoshiko's hands flutter over her face, a small smile took over when she saw Hoshiko's blushing face.

"You, you are cute... Thank you." Hoshiko turned away from Konan and suddenly stood up.

"I have to go practice with my bō, um, bye!" Hoshiko didn't have to practice with her bō for another hour, Konan realized as she watched Hoshiko run away.

* * *

"Hey, hey! Jiraiya-sensei, could you teach me about seals?"

"Absolutely not."

* * *

"Today I'll teach you how to walk on water, and improve your horrible chakra control. Normally we'd start on something easier, like tree walking. But Ame doesn't have trees and I don't want to damage a building." Jiraiya idly scratched at the back of his head. He watched Hoshiko's expression shift from incredulity to understanding, like someone not there had just whispered her the answer.

"This'll be a piece of cake!" Hoshiko turned and walked away from the water. Jiraiya snorted.

"The lake is in the other direction, Hoshiko." She went red and whirled around, mud flying everywhere. If she wasn't blind and disoriented, he might've feared a retaliation. Ha, puny little thing.

"I knew that!" Hoshiko stomped right into the lake, only stopping when she realized that she was calf deep. She stiffened and then slowly backed up until she was out of the water. She could just hear Jiraiya laughing at her. She shook her head and focused on sending a tiny amount of chakra to her feet. That was the only conclusion she could come to.

Jiraiya didn't tell her how to do this but he'd mentioned chakra control, and a voice (probably one of Tou-san's memories, weird how the memories haven't come to her all at once, this was one of the more obvious times. The first was when she saw Nagato's eyes.) whispering how to do it helped her piece together how to (theoretically) water walk.

Hoshiko let her foot tap the surface of the shallows, and felt a sliver of victory rise up. She shifted her weight minutely, and flailed around when her foot went under. She looked around reflexively to see who saw, but startled when she remembered _she couldn't see anymore_. Hoshiko buried the emotions deep down and focused on her chakra.

It took her three weeks to be able to stand on water.

* * *

"Yahiko-kun, can I touch your face?" Hoshiko asked suddenly, they had just finished dinner and only Konan remained with the two.

"Uhhh... why?" Yahiko scrunched up his face and looked even more confused when Konan glared at him. Konan pointedly shook her head up and down and nodded at Hoshiko.

"I want to know what you look like, at least a more current version of you?" Hoshiko ended uncertainly. Well that didn't sound creepy at all. Not everybody has seen versions of the future, of course that would be creepy.

"Oh! Yeah why not! Why didn't you just start with that?" Yahiko crawled onto the pillow next to Hoshiko and let her feel his face.

* * *

Hoshiko had been thinking about her gender. She realized that the other lives had all felt like this. Her past lives had felt like this, like she wasn't exactly a boy a hundred percent of the time. But it was the opposite here.

Hoshiko thought that choosing to be a girl here would get rid of that feeling, but it only pronounced it. Sometimes she wanted to correct Yahiko whenever he called her a she, but she was a _she_. But on the other hand, she was comfortable in this body (except for those first few times when she had to pee and she just blankly stared at the toilet). But sometimes she really wanted to step back into the comfort of her... his old body.

Hoshiko rolled onto her back and gently touched her boob. Then pinched her arm. This was real. She was a girl.

But did she have to be? Hoshiko had met plenty of people similar to her in her old worlds. Transgender. But it wasn't right. Transgender seemed too limited compared to what Hoshiko felt. Hoshiko was comfortable being both a boy and a girl, sometimes just one, and a few rare times, neither.

Hoshiko just wanted to exist.

* * *

 **A/N: kind of dropped off because of lack of motivation and feedback. please review.**


End file.
